eTutoring

NOW! Grammar was developed in an attempt to fill the gap between reading
sentences and interpreting their meaning. What makes NOW! Grammar so vital
is that it is a program which brings back systematic exploration of grammar
(parts of speech and sentence structuring) and supplements expressive
language. We found that children with dyslexia often have a hard time
understanding what the most important pieces of a sentence are and
subsequently have a difficult time imaging sentences. NOW! Grammar also is
used as a precursor for addressing writing.

Despite helpful classroom materials and programs employed by educators all
across classrooms, schools continue to find that not all students are
successful in writing. Many schools districts in recent years have
allocated considerable amounts of funding on writing programs intended to
enhance curriculum and increase writing scores. Although each has its
merits and is an appropriate instructional aid for the classroom, the
Return on Investment for such programs is greatly enhanced when first
utilizing the foundational and systematic approach offered by NOW! Grammar
and Writing.

How does it work?

The NOW! Grammar and Writing program uses Socratic questioning to help
students categorize and scaffold the language that they use, starting at
the word level. Students assign labels and colors to the language, then
build in a hierarchical model, moving from concrete manipulatives to
abstract representation. Once students are able to identify how words work
in isolation, they can identify them in context and also how language works
together to convey meaning.

Multi-sensory approach

As implied in the name, this program is also multi-sensory. It brings
together several modalities: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. The client
discovers the role of individual words in a sentence and colored blocks
provide a visual association for that role — for example, a green block
represents an action verb. As it brings back systematic exploration of
grammar (parts of speech and sentence structuring) to the classroom, the
beginning portion of NOW! Grammar supplements expressive language through
visualization skills and kinesthetic manipulation designed to facilitate
writing instruction. Clients systematically learn to identify parts of
speech and analyze how specific words are utilized in a sentence.

Students build a foundation literally from one-word sentences (verb only):
"Run!" Advancing incrementally to two-word sentences (Subject / Verb): "The cat
sat." And continuing through higher-order concepts such as phrases and clauses
[prepositional, appositives, infinitives, participles, gerunds, conjunctions,
etc] "Benjamin Franklin, whom we know best for his political activities, was
also a scientists and inventor; his inventions are still used around the world
today."

With this increased awareness of the mechanics of a sentence, the client is
better able to understand and produce written language. The client is then
ready to apply visual imagery skills to begin analysis of paragraphs and
essays. The NOW! Grammar therapy continues to a higher level with the
discovery of the parts of a paragraph and finally an essay. At this level
the client then learns semantic mapping webbing in order to create
paragraphs and, finally, essays.

Progress

Students quickly progress to planning, dissecting, and writing paragraphs
while systematically increasing their structure and content. Younger,
primary-aged, students explore organization, planning, and mapping across
content. Students at the intermediate level and above do not stop there,
but transition from paragraph to essay; again in a systematically designed
fashion to facilitate the writing process. Critical thinking skills are
encouraged once students demonstrate mastery of their own expressive
language. Each word, sentence and paragraph will have a purpose. NOW!
Grammar has various anchor charts of support materials (A Writing Toolbox)
to help students move toward autonomy as well as supplemental scripted
materials to support students with difficulties in expressive language.

Your child will not just memorize the parts of speech; they will discover
what each part means, how each part functions in a sentence, and how each
part adds to the overall meaning of the sentence. Once your child is able
to break down and understand what he or she is reading, an accurate mental
image can then be created and stored away in the child's brain for future
use.

Why is this important?

Research shows multisensory approaches to language are more effective and
have longer-lasting results Expressive language precedes written language
and the way a student commands their speech dictates their written
expression.

Results

Students and adult learners exit the NOW! Grammar and Writing Program
understanding the goals of written language and how words work separately
and together to convey meaning.